Barchi reiterated that he wished he had viewed the video where Rice shoved players and called them gay slurs when it first surfaced in November, saying he would have fired Rice then. In his remarks, he did not mention the coach, and focused solely on a reconfiguration of higher education in New Jersey.

Meanwhile, Gov. Chris Christie on Monday defended Barchi's handling of the scandal, as the university announced it plans to commission a probe of what happened.

Tim Pernetti: "I'll Always Want What's Best for Rutgers"

Rutgers athletics director Tim Pernetti told reporters after his resignation Friday, "I always have and I always will, no matter what, want what's best for Rutgers." His wife Danielle told NBC 4 New York earlier Pernetti was "the best athletic director they could ever have." (Published Friday, April 5, 2013)

While he's issued statements, a news conference Monday was the first time Christie answered questions about the situation.

He said that ousting Barchi now would be a mistake for Rutgers, and he praised the president, who took office in September, for working quickly last week to fire Rice and get Athletic Director Tim Pernetti to resign within days after he — and the public — first viewed the video.

"They were wrong not to come to the conclusion that Coach Rice needed to be fired immediately," Christie said. The Republican governor added that had he been aware of the issues earlier he would have used his "power of persuasion" to try to get Rice fired then.

Pro Athletes' Wives & Girlfriends

Christie said presidents must delegate some matters and that the mistake was not a firing offence.

Also Monday, Rutgers announced that it is commissioning a review of the way the university handled the situation.

The scandal has prompted the FBI to investigate whether a former Rutgers basketball employee asked for money from Rutgers in exchange for not taking the videos public, a person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press.